Sparks
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Sparks fly between them, reflecting back and blending with the lights of the city beyond to create their very own fireworks display.


Title: Sparks  
>Author: DizzyDrea<br>Summary: Sparks fly between them, reflecting back and blending with the lights of the city beyond to create their very own fireworks display.  
>Rating: T<br>Spoilers: Cops & Robbers  
>Author's Notes: I've been trying to write this story—or one like it—for a few weeks. But every time I sat down to write it, nothing would come out. I was finally able to get a start, but it just wouldn't come together. Then I saw Cops &amp; Robbers, and heard the Taylor Swift song, "Sparks Fly" on the radio just a day or two later. I also read a few post-ep stories, which is unusual for me, since I try not to read much in the fandoms I write in (so I don't accidentally copy someone else's work). Suddenly, it all clicked for me, and this story is the result. I hope you enjoy it.<br>Disclaimer: Castle is the property of ABC, ABC Studios, Beacon Productions and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~&O&~

Every time their eyes meet, sparks fly.

Kate Beckett's been a cop for a long time, and a good one, too. So she can't figure out why she's only just noticed this. Maybe it's the fact that she knows how he feels about her now. Maybe it's the fact that she knows she feels the same way. Or maybe it's the fact that today, she almost lost him.

She shivers as that thought runs through her, chilled to the bone as the memory of the blast races through her mind once more.

She's not sure what she should have expected, that first time they met. She remembers looking up and meeting his gaze, brown eyes meeting blue for the first time. They were like flint and steel: stable apart, combustible together. And she'd come to depend on that spark in the days in between. Seeing him first thing at a crime scene was like that first hit of caffeine in the morning. The jolt it gave her would wake up her senses and make her feel alive, really alive for the rest of the day.

She felt that jolt today, when she found him along with the rest of the hostages in the safe deposit box vault. She couldn't have kept that stupid smile from her face if she'd tried. She'd thought he was dead; for a few long, agonizing minutes she'd thought she lost him. So when their eyes met as she freed him from his bonds, she felt a familiar thrill at the sparks dancing between them.

She can feel his heat behind her as she stares out the window at the endless lights of the city. She can see him, hovering at her shoulder. They've been like that most of the evening: never out of each other's sight, just inside each other's personal space. It's too much and not enough, and for just a moment, she wishes she could be someone else, that she could blow up these walls she lives behind and just be with him.

But she's her, and he's Richard Castle, and she knows she wouldn't want him to be anyone but who he is, so she can do no less than be who she is.

Still.

"I almost lost you today," she says quietly.

She knows she's said it before, but it bears repeating because it's the truth. She sees him smile; just a slight tipping of the lips in his reflection, but it's there. Then he shakes his head.

"But you didn't," he says. "I told them you wouldn't let us down, and you didn't."

She frowns. What if she hadn't been able to save them? What then? But he's already there, as if he can read her mind.

"I knew you'd do everything you could to get us out of there," he says solemnly. "I have faith in you."

She drops her head, heaving a great sigh. It's nice to have someone believe in her so much, but she knows that nothing she did today made a difference. The outcome was already written, and that scares her. Not because he could have died, because he could still die crossing the street tomorrow.

No, what scares her is that he could have died and she'd still be stuck behind these walls. And if he were gone, she'd never again get to look into his eyes and see the sparks fly.

"Hey," he says, and she knows he's seen some of her thoughts in the reflection of her eyes in the window.

He steps in close, reaching out one hand to ghost over her side, just over the scar from her surgery. His warmth is comforting, but just for a second she stiffens before allowing herself to melt back into that welcoming heat. Slowly, carefully, as if he doesn't trust her not to elbow him in the ribs for being so forward, he slips his other arm around her, cradling her against himself gently, as if she were a treasure of infinite value. It's a line they don't usually cross, but tonight the lines don't seem to matter as much.

Kate sighs, and marvels at the feeling of home and safety that surrounds her in his arms. He's her weakness; not her only one, but perhaps her greatest one. Because he's still here. Her mother is long gone, and while finding her killer is something of an obsession, if she were to lose Castle … she knows she couldn't survive that.

He steps closer, nestling his cheek against her hair as he meets her eyes in the window, and it takes her breath away, the love and longing on display there. It's murky, muted in the haze of the reflection, but there nonetheless, even if he thinks she can't see it.

"I don't go looking for trouble, you know," he says, trademark smirk firmly in place.

She chuckles. "No, Castle, you don't. And yet, it always seems to find you."

Now it's his turn to chuckle, and she feels it as a rumble in her chest. Warm. Alive.

They stand that way for several minutes, not talking because no words are necessary. They're both keenly aware of just how close they came today, and she can't say what she really wants to anyway. Finally, though, she feels the need to speak.

"How's Alexis?"

He sighs. "She'll be okay. It's just … she had such high hopes for this thing with Ashley."

"Love isn't always easy," she says, and she knows it's true. Not just for Alexis, but for them, too.

"I just wish she didn't have to go through this," he says. She can see his pain, the pain he feels for his daughter, and her heart goes out to him.

"She'll get it right one day," she says. "One day, she'll meet the right guy and she'll just know. No doubts. No questions. It may take a while, but it'll happen."

Their eyes meet, reflected in the glass, and understanding passes between them. He runs his hand up from where it's been resting on her abdomen to settle over her heart.

"Yeah," he says, smiling back at her, and she knows they're not talking about Alexis anymore.

Warmth swells in her chest as they hold each other's gaze. Sparks fly between them, reflecting back and blending with the lights of the city beyond to create their very own fireworks display. Her walls are still firmly in place, but she's hopeful now. Hopeful that someday she will be able to say everything in her heart.

The moment stretches on, and Kate is loath to break it, but she knows she has to. She needs to get home, put some space between them before the next time they see each other. She doesn't want to go, but she's not ready to take the next step. She isn't sure when she will be, but for his sake, she hopes it's soon.

"I should go," she says.

For just a moment, she thinks he won't let her. He tightens his arms around her, pulling her closer still. She watches as he drops a kiss on her head, his nose getting lost in her long hair as he takes a deep breath, taking in her scent. Then, reluctantly she can tell, he steps back.

She turns around and offers him a genuine smile. Reaching out, she takes his hand, squeezes it. "Thanks for dinner. And the company."

"You're welcome," he says, squeezing her hand in return.

He follows her as she collects her purse and jacket, helping her shrug it over her shoulders before walking her to the door, his hand at the small of her back a welcome warmth. He swings the door open and she steps into the opening, turning at the last minute.

She pushes up on her toes and leans in, pecks him on the cheek. "Goodnight."

She sees the surprise pass over his face, and smiles shyly before leaving. Each step is harder than the last because she has to fight her every desire in order to put distance between them. She's not ready yet, and she won't give in until she is. But until then, she looks forward to seeing him again, thanking whatever higher power there is that he survived so that she can.

Because every time their eyes meet, sparks fly.

~Finis


End file.
